LUMINOSITY FUNCTIONS OF SPITZER -IDENTIFIED PROTOSTARS IN NINE NEARBY MOLECULAR CLOUDS

We identify protostars in Spitzer surveys of nine star-forming (SF) molecular clouds within 1 kpc: Serpens, Perseus, Ophiuchus, Chamaeleon, Lupus, Taurus, Orion, Cep OB3, and Mon R2, which combined host over 700 protostar candidates. Our diverse cloud sample allows us to compare protostar luminosity...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astronomical journal 2012-08, Vol.144 (2), p.1-28
Main Authors: KRYUKOVA, E, Megeath, S T, Gutermuth, R A, Pipher, J, Allen, T S, Allen, L E, Myers, P C, MUZEROLLE, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ASTRONOMY
ASTROPHYSICS
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
BOLOMETERS
Clouds
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DENSITY
ENERGY SPECTRA
FUNCTIONS
GALAXIES
LUMINOSITY
MASS
Mathematical models
Molecular clouds
PHOTOMETRY
PROTOSTARS
SEGREGATION
Spectral energy distribution
STARS
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Summary:We identify protostars in Spitzer surveys of nine star-forming (SF) molecular clouds within 1 kpc: Serpens, Perseus, Ophiuchus, Chamaeleon, Lupus, Taurus, Orion, Cep OB3, and Mon R2, which combined host over 700 protostar candidates. Our diverse cloud sample allows us to compare protostar luminosity functions in these varied environments. We combine near- and mid-infrared photometry from the Two Micron All Sky Survey and Spitzer to create 1-24 mu m spectral energy distributions (SEDs). In the Orion molecular clouds, we find a significant difference between the luminosity functions of protostars in regions of high and low stellar density, the former of which is biased toward more luminous sources. We compare our luminosity functions to those predicted by models and find that our observed luminosity functions are best matched by models that invoke competitive accretion, although we do not find strong agreement between the high-mass SF clouds and any of the models.
ISSN:0004-6256
1538-3881
1538-3881
DOI:10.1088/0004-6256/144/2/31